No. 15 Creighton men’s basketball bounced back in a big way on Thursday, defeating Oklahoma State 79-65 in the Big East-Big 12 Battle.
The Bluejays closed the half on a 24-6 run to take control then maintained a double-digit lead throughout the second half to secure a victory in their first true road game and improve to 6-1 on the year.
Here are three takeaways from the game.
Bounce-back Bluejays
Creighton followed up its worst offensive outing in some time with a solid output, especially considering the physical brand of defense the Cowboys played. Creighton shot 52.7% from the field including 10-of-19 from 3 as the top four of Baylor Scheierman, Trey Alexander, Steven Ashworth and Ryan Kalkbrenner accounted for all but five of the team’s points and all but three of its shot attempts.
“We were able to get back on track from a tough loss against a very good team in Colorado State,” Alexander said during a post-game interview on ESPN2. “We were just trying to get our groove back, as well as myself. So we were just able to work on our offense to be able to move the ball very well tonight and I feel like that’s why we were able to get some good shots.”
Baylor Scheierman led the Jays in scoring once again with 21 points on 8-of-16 shooting including 3-of-7 from 3. He added eight points and two steals. Scheierman has now hit at least three triples in every game this season and is the team’s leading scorer.
Trey Alexander bounced back from his rough two-game stint in Kansas City in his first game back in his home state since arriving at Creighton. The junior guard finished with 20 points on 7-of-12 shooting including 1-of-3 from deep, though he did miss three of his six free throws. He added seven boards, three assists and two steals in 36 minutes with upwards of 40 friends and family in the arena which is just over an hour away from his hometown. Alexander had the mid-range jumper falling consistently.
“It was just playing off my teammates,” Alexander said. “I think that we had a good matchup down there with Ryan Kalkbrenner; we wanted to let him get going early because if they have to crash in then we have the dominoes falling and we’re able to get easy looks. We just played off of Kalk tonight and I was able to get to my spots down the stretch and just play in the mid-range, play my game.”
Ashworth put the team on his back early, hitting his first five shots from the field including three 3s plus an and-one to score 14 in the first half alone. He added another triple in the second half to finish with 17 points five assists and just one turnover in 37 minutes.
“It’s definitely a shooter’s gym here,” Ashworth told John Bishop on 1620 the Zone after the game. “I came the night before for a little shoot-around and it’s bright orange, but it kind of reminds me of the Spectrum, growing up playing in Logan, the bright orange seats and everything like that. So it’s a fun arena. The atmosphere was great. I came in to tonight just being so grateful to God that we get to play college basketball and we get to have fans cheering us on. It’s incredible.”
Scheierman, Alexander and Ashworth all played the entire 20 minutes in the second half and didn’t rest much in the first. Creighton is going to need more from its bench (and the coaching staff is going to need to give the reserves a chance to produce) as the season plays out, though Mason Miller started and played just seven minutes in his first game back from illness. Creighton has a quick turnaround as the Jays will head to Lincoln on Sunday for the annual in-state battle.
Creating Separation
Oklahoma State got off to a faster start, and the Cowboys outscored Creighton by four in the second half. However, once again a big Creighton run is what decided the game.
The Bluejays let Oklahoma State score on five of its first six possessions to race out to a 12-6 lead. Creighton settled in at that point, however, and the Cowboys only scored on eight of their last 27 possessions of the first half.
Creighton closed the half on a 24-6 run including 17 straight at one point. The Jays led by 18 at the break and although Oklahoma State refused to go away completely, the lead never dipped below 12.
Javon Small scored a game-high 24 points for the Cowboys on 8-of-17 shooting, but the rest of the team combined for just 17 buckets on a 37.8% shooting clip. Oklahoma State shot just under 40% inside the arc and although they connected on 43.8% of their 3s, the Cowboys only attempted 16 of them, nearly 12 attempts under their season average.
“It just shows that when we’re clicking we’re a very good team on offensive and the defensive ends,” Alexander said. “I think that besides Small having a great game that we were able to hold those other guys below the averages and I think that when we’re playing defense at high level we’re a very hard team to beat because we know we can score. We have five guys that can score it any night. So when we’re playing on all cylinders on the defensive end, better watch out.”
Moving on Up
Ryan Kalkbrenner recorded his second double-double of the season and in doing so moved into 24th place on Creighton’s career scoring list. The 7-footer finished with 16 points, passing Wally Anderzunas in the first half then Hall of Fame baseball player and multi-sport athlete Bob Gibson in the second half. He added 12 rebounds (four offensive), two blocks and two assists in 32 minutes.
“That’s pretty cool,” Coach Greg McDermott said during his post-game radio interview. “Ryan has been really important to us on both ends of the floor since he arrived on campus. It’s fun to see his development and the different things that he can do to help our team win.”
It was a mixed bag of a game for Kalkbrenner, however. He shot just 6-of-15 from the field including 5-of-12 inside the arc and turned the ball over three times. He was slow to react at times on the catch and missed some opportunities for easier buckets.
However, he was also the one who keyed Creighton’s first-half run. First he backed down his man in the post and dropped in a jump hook when Oklahoma State didn’t send help. Then on the next possession the Cowboys did double on the catch and he immediately recognized it and kicked to the corner for an Isaac Traudt 3. Then he swished a top-of-the-key 3 with no hesitation. A couple possessions later, he drew a foul on the offensive glass and hit both bonus free throws for 10 straight Creighton points — which extended into 17 straight as others joined the party.
The game also included a scary moment early in the second half as Kalkbrenner hit the ground trying to recover a loose ball and banged his 3. He stayed down briefly then limped back to get his knee looked at, but fortunately he was able to check back in just a couple of minutes later.
As talented as Creighton’s perimeter contingent is, the Jays will go as far as Kalkbrenner takes them this season.
